Santarcangelo has a long history of markets that date back to Roman times.

The first documentary evidence dates from 1255.

In 1501, a concession given by Cesare Borgia, also known as Valentino, stipulated that Santarcangelo’s main fair was the market of San Michele that was held on the 29th of September.

At the end of the 18th century the architect Cosimo Morelli redesigned the main square, which then became the designated area to trade and exchange goods.

In the same century the town of Santarcangelo held 5 important fairs and two weekly markets, which occupied a total of 114 days in the year.

The 1950s were considered to be the end of an era: after over a 100 years the relationship between human beings, animals and land, was completely revolutionised. Less use was made of animals for working the land and tractors and agricultural machinery took their place.

In 1972 the famous poet Tonino Guerra, native to Santarcangelo, wrote the poem “I Bu” in the local dialect in a nostalgic remembrance of the previous era.

The novelty aspect of these fairs was never lost: celebrating, while eating and drinking together after closing business deals, are still today one of the most important parts of the event .

San Michele and San Martino are still the biggest and most important fairs, not just for the locals but also for the whole region. From 1970 new fairs where added; the Theatre Festival market, the “Balconi Fioriti” fair (inaugurated in 1989) and the antiques market. The latter, whose name was inspired by a collection of poems “La Casa del tempo” (“the house of time”) by Nino Pedretti, became a monthly event. in 1996